Kim tried to focus on the babies on the floor of the library, even though her mind was elsewhere. Shane had been upstairs with Andrew for the better part of an hour, and she wondered what he was telling their son. Bitterly, she wondered if "Daddy" could work his magic and make Andrew feel better, leaving Kim to be the bad guy over what had happened with the school.
She shook her head, trying to wipe aside her bitterness and anger at least for the moment. There was no point dwelling on Shane's priorities when he was not there. Instead, Kim looked at the children. Stephanie was toddling around, stopping every few feet to examine something new. Meanwhile, Jeannie sat on the floor, holding her pink bunny."
"No, Stephanie," Kim said. She got up to rescue a book that Stephanie had picked up from one of the end-tables. With a slight chuckle, she glanced around at all the things in the library that were fragile. By the time Jeannie was able to walk, they would have to child-proof the room.
Assuming you're still living here when that happens.
The thought made her ache slightly, a reminder that she was still just a "guest" in the house. Trying to ignore that feeling as well as her anger, Kim set the book on a shelf and turned around to steer Stephanie back to the middle of the room.
"Getting into trouble are we?" Kim turned to see Shane in the doorway. His eyes were on Stephanie only.
Of course, Kim thought. Why would he care about anyone else? Kim bit back on what she wanted to say, even as her anger and bitterness returned. "Everything's fine," she said.
Shane looked at her for a moment, then crossed the room toward his desk, stepping around Jeannie without a word. When he reached it, he began leafing through the day's mail.
"Where's Andrew?" Kim asked.
"He's playing a video game," Shane replied. "I told him he could play for a little while until bedtime. I said you'd be up when it was time."
"And did you talk to him about-".
Shane nodded. "He's upset, but he'll get over it."
"Get over it?" Kim could hear her voice rising. "It's not a question of 'getting over it,' Shane. It's about what's right for Andrew."
"Look . . . Kim. . . ." He glanced at the girls. "I don't think we should argue about this right now."
"Argue?" Kim looked at him closely and realized, "You're not upset about this at all. You're glad they're not letting Andrew go back, aren't you?" Shane did not respond, but looked again at the babies. He's avoiding the issue. "I'm right, aren't I?"
Shane shifted from foot to foot. "It's not that I'm not concerned about Andrew, and I understand why you want him to be able to have a normal life, but-"
Kim cut him off. "But you don't care that he's being kept out of school."
"We'll discuss this later," came Shane's curt response. It gave Kim her answer. Shane did not care that Andrew was all alone. For a moment, she wondered if he had encouraged the principal to keep Andrew out of school.
"Fine," Kim said. "But just in case we don't discuss this tonight, I'm meeting with Mickey Horton tomorrow to discuss our options. You may not care about your son, but I do."
She saw that her comment hit home, because Shane's cheeks flushed red. Whether that was from anger or embarrassment, she did not know. And for an instant, she felt a twinge of guilt. But it passed quickly as she remembered that Shane had not returned her earlier calls or shown up for the meeting at the school.
Ignoring Shane further, Kim went back to the girls. Stephanie was playing with one of Andrew's toy cars, while Jeannie had crawled over to the chair of the sofa and was trying to pull herself off the floor. From where she was crouched by the toys, Kim watched her daughter. Jeannie would be walking soon. Kim suspected it was only a few weeks away.
"Uh huh, sweetheart," Shane said from behind her. Kim spun around to see that he had lifted up Stephanie and was pulling the toy car away from her mouth. "That's not a snack," Shane joked. "If you had any idea what Andrew does with those things, you'd be thanking me."
Stephanie responded by scrunching up her face, the obvious start of a tantrum.
"Shane," Kim said, standing up as Stephanie began to wail. "Let me take her."
"I've got it." Again, that curt response. He made some soft noises and Stephanie seemed to calm a little. Her crying stopped and her eyes focused on Shane.
Kim shook her head. "This really isn't a good idea. Let me take her."
Shane gave Kim a curious glance. "Not a good idea?" She saw the realization cross his face. "You can't be serious?"
"Yes, I am," Kim said. She stood up and walked over toward Shane to take Stephanie away. "I'm not going to cause trouble with Steve. He didn't want me taking Stephanie at all and only agreed when I told him you wouldn't be home until late. But then, of course, 'things changed.'"
"So you're just going to go along with his petty jealousy? Because that's what it is." Shane turned his attention back to Stephanie momentarily. "It's okay, sweetheart," he said softly.
Kim could tell that Shane was struggling to stay calm so as not to set Stephanie off again. He really was good with her. That's because he loves her. He could be just as good with Jeannie if he tried. The bitterness rose again. He loves Stephanie, but can barely look at Jeannie. Kim tried to suppress the thought and focus on her immediate concern. "Shane . . . I know Steve's being unreasonable, but Stephanie's his daughter and he sets the rules. And. . . ." An idea popped into her head. The one way to get Shane to agree was to tie things to his mission. "And Steve needs to know he can trust me. If he doesn't trust me, he won't tell me everything."
Shane responded with a harsh laugh. "I don't think you need to worry about that." Ignoring Kim's confused look, he turned away, still holding Stephanie, and began to whisper to her. The baby giggled and smiled in response. Still not looking at Kim, Shane said, "See . . . she likes this. It's not a big deal."
Of course, it's a big deal, Kim thought. Shane just did not get it. It had nothing to do with Stephanie, and maybe Shane was right that Steve was being petty, but Steve was still Stephanie's father. Kim took a deep breath and was about to try to explain, but Jeannie chose that exact moment to start crying.
Spinning around, Kim saw Jeannie lying on the floor next to the sofa. She had a small trickle of blood on her forehead, and Kim instantly put two and two together. Jeannie had probably been trying to stand, had slipped, and hit her head.
"Oh no," Kim rushed over to Jeannie and picked her up. She was wailing loudly, and Kim hugged her close. Then she inspected the cut. It did not look deep, but probably needed some antiseptic. She tried to calm Jeannie, who was still crying and then realized that, like a chain reaction, Stephanie had also began to cry. Shane was doing his best to quiet her.
Kim sighed. She did not want to leave Stephanie with Shane, but she had to take care of Jeannie. It would only take a few minutes. Looking at Shane, Kim said, "I'm going to take Jeannie and clean up this cut, but when I get back, I really think you need to leave us alone. Maybe it is petty, Shane, but that's the way Steve wants it. And you need to respect that."